Manny Showdown

Scott Boras and Dodgers GM Ned Colletti continue their massive game of chicken as spring training approaches. Boras has turned down three of the Dodgers’ offers to Manny Ramirez. Colletti on the other hand appears to be bidding against himself.

With seemingly no other teams seriously interested in Manny, as the Yankess, Red Sox, Angels and Mets have all publically said they are no interested, it begs the question what is Boras doing?

Having been offered a two year deal for $45 million and a one year deal for $25 million, the Dodgers have expressed their interest in making Manny the second highest paid player in the game. Now is this just Manny attempting to pull a Michael Strahan and skip most of spring training, or is it Boras pulling the strings thinking he can leverage nothing into something.

Manny would fit perfectly into the Mets lineup. They need a left fielder, and they need a solid right handed hitter. Manny fills both those problems, and does an exceptional job in fact. Imagine Manny bating third sandwiched between Beltran and Delgado with Wright hitting fifth. As it stands the Mets have Castillo in the 2 slot and Church at the back end of the heart of the order, not exactly what I call fearful, especially when you can only count on Delgado for a few hot streaks throughout the season.

So the question is how much does Boras really expect Manny to get. When will the Dodgers give up and look elsewhere, remember Bobby Abreu, Adam Dunn, and Orlando Hudson are still available. And if that happens how much would the Mets actually offer Manny for a one year deal? $10 million? $15. You would have to think the Wilpons have some figure in mind. But at this point it’s just a waiting game with both Boras and Colletti starring each other down.